{{page>wiki:headers:hheader}}

====== Inertial Frames ======

===== Prompts =====

** "What is an inertial frame?" **

** "Are we in one?" **

===== Context =====

//Estimated Time: 10 min, including wrap-up//

This [[strategy:smallwhiteboard:|SWBQ]] requires familiarity with Newton's
Second Law.  Students should first be asked to write down some properties of
inertial frames.  After having a few minutes to respond, but without further
discussion, students should be asked whether the classroom is an inertial
frame.

  * Confronts student understanding of inertial frames.
  * Sets the stage for the rest of the course.
  * (Newtonian) Inertial frames are precisely those in which Newton's laws are valid.

===== Wrap Up =====

  * What is a noninertial frame in special relativity?
  * Do the laws of physics apply in noninertial reference frames?
  * What is a "law" of physics?
  * Inertial frames are "not accelerating".
  * The Earth is not an inertial frame.

Discuss student answers, emphasizing that the notion of inertial frame is
context dependent: The classroom works fine for the Newtonian mechanics of
small objects, with gravity viewed as an external force, but is noninertial
due to rotational acceleration.

{{rfinertial.ppt|Powerpoint slide}}
\\\\
{{rfinertial.pdf|PDF slide}}

{{page>wiki:footers:courses:rffooter}}
{{page>wiki:footers:topics:cmfooter}}